On Thursday, September 10, 2015 at 6:58:03 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Thursday, September 10, 2015 at 4:20:14 PM UTC-4, John Cochrane wrote:
As a one time (long ago) junior who had to give up for a while, I think we're missing the big picture here. Not big team training sessions, not nationals.

If you're a junior, and sort of by definition can't afford to own a glider, where do you get access to a relatively modern glider suitable for learning cross country and contest skills?

European clubs have glass single seat gliders, and encourage memebers to go cross country in them.

The vast majority of American clubs don't have glass gliders, and heaven forbid anyone should take one cross country, least of all the "new kid." The exceptions -- Harris Hill with both good gliders and a strong junior program, for example -- prove the rule.

John Cochrane

From what I see, most Harris Hill juniors do their first cross countries in the 1-26 or the 1-34. Mostly the 1-34.
I think it is not at all important to have glass available for early cross countries.
For early contests, a 1-34 is fine in sports as long as tasking takes it into account. It is "just" more work to rig and derig.
Liz Schwenkler, from HHSS, won her first regional in the 1-34 and later was the first woman to win a US Nationals since the 1950's. Along the way, she had loaner gliders as she needed them.
It isn't the ships, it's the culture.
UH

I tend to agree with Hank. We're making it so much more complicated than it is. It starts with some really hard work - instructing, encouraging, retrieving, etc. The culture comes first. It's a grass-roots effort.

That's not to suggest that a common playbook and institutional support won't be necessary - it will. But first, we have to start with a culture that welcomes and encourages juniors ON THEIR TERMS with support and the rest will follow. I'll put my money where my mouth is and commit to a Region 2 Junior confab and XC camp in the next 2 years. If each of the 12 regions in the US did this with only 5 kids, there's your 60 juniors!

P3